Method of and apparatus for preserving piles



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. v

A. A. POLHAMS.,

LES. Patented Apr. 17,1894.

I 3 Sheets A. A. POLHAMUS. F N APPARA US F l METEO 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.) A. A. POL'HAMUS.

METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR PRESBRVING PILES.

j jgented Apr. 17,1894.

NrrnD STATES'y PATENT FFICE.

ALBERT A. PoLHAMU's, oF sAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

VIETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING PILES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 518,354, dated April 17|, 1894.

i Application led .Tune 25,1892. Serial No. 437,962. (No model.) I

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. POLHAMUS, of San Diego, in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Preserving Piles; and I do heref by declare the following to be a full, clear, and

l casing of a pile with exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. g

My lnvention relates to improved apparatus for and method of preserving piles for piers, wharves, &c., from being destroyed by worms and insects, means and methods of cleaning the piles from adhering foreign substances, forcing the mud away from around the bottom of the piles, and lncasing the piles in a thin layer of protective cement. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side view in elevation, partly in vertical section, showing the means and method used 1n cleaning the piles. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the means and method of forcing the mud away from around the bottom of a pile, and Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the ina layer of cement.

In Fig. 1, A is an endless chain which passes through the hole Bin one end of a U- shaped guide C and then around the pile D and through the hole B in the other end of the U-shaped guide C. The guide C, and with it the chain A are raisedor lowered on the pile D by means of the blocks E and rope F which are attached to C by the chain G and to a projecting beam H on the pile cap I by the hook J. The endless chain Aalso passes over the drum Kof an engine L on a barge M.

When it is desired to remove shells, barnacles or other foreign matter from the pile, the guide C and chain A are placed around the pile D and the engine L started. The chain A slides around the pile and scrapes from it all foreign matter. The guide C and with it the chain A are given a vertical motion along the pile by meansl of the rope F, and thus the different parts of the pile are cleaned in turn, until the whole pile has been thoroughly cleaned. After the pile has been cleaned by the above process, awater-tight casing N (Fig. 2) made of metal or other suitable material is placed around the pile with its bottom part and the invent-ion consists inl resting on the mud O. Water is then allowed to llow into the casing N at the top thereof through a pipe P. The weight of the superincumbent water within thecasing N gradually expels the mud from within the casing around the bottom thereof, and the casing willsink until its rests upon the hard bottom R In the next step ot' the process, two exible tubes S are connected one on either side of the-bottom of the casingN (Fig. 8). By means of a ram T on the barge, stiff mortar cement is forced through the tubesS into the bottom of the casingN surrounding the pile D until the casing is lled with cement. After the cement has suflicient-ly hardene he casing is taken off and` applied to anothe pile. `By inserting the cement in the casing from the bottom a dam is formed which will oder less resistance to the filling action of the casing with the cement than if it were introduced through the top of said casing for the reason that in introducing the cement through the top of the casing outwardly, it is thrown against the Water contained within the casing and will become disseminated or integrated, and it will be possible withg'reat difficulty, if at all, to apply the cement from the top and ll the casing against the upper buoyant tendency of the water therein. Therefore by filling through the bottom of the casing and at the point of the least buoyancy or resistance gradually upwardly, the operation can be successfully and practically carried out.

Having thus fully described myinvention, whatl claim, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved apparatus for cleaning piles, the combination of a guide surrounding the pile, eyes carried by the guide, a chain passing through the eyes and around the pile, and means for changing the position of the guide longitudinally of the piles, substantially as described.

2. As an improved apparatus for preserving piling the combination of a casing surrounding a pile, a tube discharging in to the top of said casing, means for forcing a supply of water through the tubes,a reservoir above the surface of the water, and liexible tubes opening into the casing at the bottom and IOC connecting with said reservoir whereby the tom upward While the casing still surrounds the same,` and removing the casing, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALBERT A. POLHAMUS.

Witnesses:

JAMES A. HEATH, EUGEN C. DIVVORT. 

